SAED HINDASH/THE STAR-LEDGERNorth Brunswick Raiders softball team plays all their home games at the North Brunswick Community Park because they don't have fields at the high school to play on. Apparently the mounds of soil behind the school had arsenic and were not playable, May 13, 2009TRENTON -- No more than 10 days could elapse before school boards notify parents of contaminated soil found on school grounds, according to the terms of a bill that could soon be posted for an Assembly vote.

The measure, sponsored by Assemblywomen Connie Wagner and Joan Voss, was approved Monday by the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee. It stems from a 2007 incident in Paramus in which the school district waited several months before notifying parents that pesticide-laden soil had been discovered on the grounds of West Brook Middle School.

“This bill is common sense, but sadly it’s very apparently needed,” Wagner (D-Bergen), said in a statement. “Schools shouldn’t have to be told to provide prompt notification to parents about toxins being found on school grounds, but unfortunately history shows we have to take this step to protect our children.”

The notice, which must be either written and sent home with students, a telephone call, direct contact or an e-mail, must include a description of the problem. It must also describe the factors that qualified the problem as an emergency that threatened the health or safety and an explaination of the steps that will be taken to remediate the soil contamination.